The competition is perhaps the focal point through which many Go players meet and indeed exist, I shall contend that it is even more important as a driver than the club. We meet, we play, we fight, we talk, we live, we hunger. To keep us all active, there are, or should be, many layers of competition. We don’t want the same people to win all the time. Therefore a smart organisation organises a wide range of events – team, youth, club, state, province, senior, and indeed women’s. I used to argue with a friend that there belief that women’s only tournaments were sexist, whilst pair-go was to be extolled was simplistic and probably wrong. They are now playing in the IAPGC. The first Sotetsu (?) cup gave out hairdryers, cooking utensils, hoovers, makeup kit … that kind of thing, to the women taking part. This did raise a nerve for some. Yet, the competitions don’t have to be that way inclined. Pampering the community is a good thing, but it does rather ought to be done so diplomatically? Having experienced the IAPGC first hand, it did raise my anti-establishment haggles somewhat. A smartly dressed hetrosexual world free from all forms of non conformist behaviour, an iron fisted schedule with some crazy fancy dress urges hurled in, a Dutch theme park extroadinaire; I could entertain all these images up to a point. Yet the whole event is simply to promote Go, or rather Pair Go, which is a vehicle for women to play Go. Creating an event were countries are pampered, women are pampered, weak players are pampered, it is strategic genius after all. So I do feel it is an event which deserves praise rather than poo-pooing. Raised on the international stage we feel special. Women’s events are to me not at all disimilar, so long as there is the proviso that, or the understanding that, they do not exist because women are not able to compete with men, in the same way that junior events do not exist because juniors are not able to compete with men and women. Having been to both, I think they are enjoyed equally without degrading anyone involved in them.